Expansion-joint.



F. RAY.

xPA'NsloN JolNT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 4 I9I4.

LIII., Patented Jan. 30, 1917.

6 saar/llm- I 7 .munuuu- I r afi:

I ZMIIIIIIIHIIHHHH'IIIII WIW/wy FREDERICK BAY, OIF SHORT HILLS, NEW JERSEY.

iaiaaoe.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented dan. 3ft, 191W.,

i application led November 4L, 1914i. Serial No. 870,217.

To all lwhom t may concern: e

Beit known that l, FREDERICK RAY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Short Hills, county of Essex, State of New Jersey., have invented an Improvement in Expansion-Joints, of which the followingI description," in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My present invention of an` expansion l joint is particularly intended for pipes which -are subject to expansion and' contraction, be-

ing applicable to steam pipes (whether high or low pressure of steam), pipes for transmitting cold, etc. Taking the steam pipes as lthe best example of the need of my invention, it is well understood that provision must often be made in steam piping systems for the lineal expansion and rontraction of the piping, due to variationsin'temperature in the'fluid occupying the pipes. The provision for such-variation in lengthis one of the most important and difficult problems in this line of engineering. j

Heretofore it has been necessary to provide long radius bends of pipe, a steam tight packing, double swing sections on threaded fittings, or short lengths of corrugated soft metal capable of slight expansion and contraction due to their ductility. 'lhese prior methods howeverhave been unsatisfactory as the bends and the threaded fittings required room and the corrugated sections and steam packing were limited in'their extent of use, requiring frequent renewal. Furthermore all these prior methods soon resulted in more or less leaky joints and required constant attention. :The short corrugated sections, especially, could only withstand a relatively fewv expanslve and co-ntractile movements when the metal'would become crystallized and the joint would be apt toburst and be a source of danger, For short lengths of pipe between fixed' joints or anchored sections, only the lsliding steam `tight packing or the short corrugated secable portion of the joint inclosed and this feature.

liability of explosion.v ll accomplish this in my present invention by providing a flexible member in which I take advantage of the elasticity of 'an elastic metal in such a way as not to exceed the elastic limit of thismetal 1n any working position of the joint, so that the total movement of the joint shall not exceed the permissible elastic movement of its parts, thus eliminating fatigue of the metal and consequent crystallization and breakage. Another important feature of the more complete embodiment of vmy present expansion joint in the preferred construction of the drawings, is that lf have the entire movrotected, and also so arranged as to permitpthe steam pressure to exert an inward force on the flexible part of the mechanism instead sible, between a sliding tube and a xed sleeve which would therefore permit but a comparatively slight leakage even if the flexible member should break under excess of pressure, flaws, or other causes and which acts to axially guide the movement of one pipe connection relatively tothe other. Also in fitting my improved joint to piping ll have provided means to adjust orregulate the extension of the flexible member of the joint so that its position shall correspond to thp corresponding expansion or contraction, as the case may be, of the pipe to which the joint is to be connected, at the time of installation of the joint. rl`his feature is ofvparan equal movement of the e astic member each side of its normal non-stressed position, movement to one side giving tensile, stress, and movement to the other side giving a compressive stress, but each within the elastic limit of the metal, thus doubling the total movement or possible limitr without Also in tting my ,improved expansion joint to piping l am enabled soto adjust the same that, when steam for 1nstance is turned on and the pipe sections are in their normal heated and therefore expanded position, the .flexible part of the joint is in its non-stressed position, c'. e. without elastic strain, and is capable of a further movement, either expansive or con- `l5 f will differ respectively fromthe corresponding properties of the disks themselves 'and in general will be much less. In fact, in the `trac-tile. .This feature ,is of particular im- 2 .portance in practice, as it insuresa long and indefinite life to the joint. In my present expansion joint construction I am enabled to usedisks of steel or other material'of a high flexibility and of great strength.

An expansion element constructed with disks riveted together or joinedby crimping Ior by the ordinary processes of soldering is not as ellicient as the construction I have shown, such junctlons being non-homogeneous and having characteristics dilferentfroml those of the plates themselves. The ultimatel strength, the elastic limit, the coefficient of` elasticity, the ultimate and elastic resilience vbest embodiment of my invention, it is necessarythat the disks be joined at their outer and inner peripheries in some manner such 4that the resulting junctions and disks -willy be homogeneous in respect to the physical properties just mentloned. Otherwise there results an uneven distribution of the lexure 'throughout the expansion element so that `an excessive amount of bending will take place in the joint itself instead of uniformly throughout the metal of the annuluses. Joining. the disks together by -a welding gives the desired homogeneous junctions,

land by making these junctions, as illus- `trated by means of a weld so situated that each plate is joined to the next in 'acontinuous curved section of approximately uni- Iform thickness the homogeneous properties of these junctions and the plates 'are utilized tothe best advanta e. It is desirable for the long life of the joint that thethiclmess of the metal atthe'junctions of the disks be not less thanthat of the disks.

. Other` features of the invention and details of construction will be'hereinafter more fully pointed out in connection with the'ac- -45 companying. drawings which v'I have shown a preferred embodiment ofthe inventionl and will be made' more fully apparent in connection with the claims.` Y

`.Referring toV the drawingsfFigure f1 is a cross sectional view, and partly broken away', of my improved expansion joint and accessories; Fig. 2 is avi'ew on a smaller scale o f the exterior of the joint indicated as interposed between lengths of pipe r, Fig.

3 is an endelevation, viewing Fig. 2 fromv the right; and Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similarv to Fig. 1 illustrating -one form of change in the mechanismV desirable when mounting the joint oncooling pipes, as distinguished from heating pipes. As alreadyimplied, my invention 'is bradl novel in many res ects', and accordingly, 1t willA be understoo that the embodiment herein shown for' purposes of description and illustration is merely a preferred:

1 orclamping nut 19. At

construction and that the invention is capable of a wide range of mechanical embodiments' within the spirit and scope of the invention." But for the purpose ofmaking the invention clearly understood, I will describe it especiallyY with reference to a construction which is welll adapted to steam pipes. Accordingly, referring to the drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a casing 1,

vor inclosing casing of the joint when an inclosure for the latter is employed, asit is in the preferred construction or more completeembodiment ofthe invention. A drain or outlet 10 and closing plug 11 are provided for drawing olf the condensed -steamlwhen desired. ."Ihe cap o'r head 9 is centrally .apertur'ed at 12 to receive the adjacent portions `of the joint and has a plurality of bosses 13 shown as four onV its outer face provided with sockets 14 for a purpose to be described. p' j I come now to the more important features of the invention (I say more imporvtant because it may be used without the outer inclosure within the scope of certain of the claims). The `oppozsite ends of the extendible-contractile section or`joint proper are hereinshown as consisting of a tube or pipe 15 and a. collar 16 in which the tube has a sliding fit, said collar preferably having a --peripheral flange 17 to receive the head 9 and a threadedend 18 to receive a lockingits inner end 20 one end of the bellows-like elastic joint is Welded, `this joint Ibeing made up of a series, of disks or sheet-annulnses 21 of metal which are `welded to each other at their yrespective inner and outer,Y edges alternately like a bellows said inner and outer edges meeting in' continuous'curves, as shown in Fig. 1. Each annulus is4 preferably corrugated lcircumferentially s`oas thereby to givefurther elasticity, better movement, and also to facilitate their nesting properly when moved together as closely as possible. The outer end bellows is Welded tov the collar 16. This metal bellows is made of steel or other suitable sheet metal having considerable elasticity orresiliency. The outer end of the tube 15 isturned outwardly at 22 to receive a flange 23, which may be immovably secured thereon if desired, said flange having bolt holes- 24 for bolts Y.25 by which it is united of the series of .disks or the outer end of the v iso Lalanne to the adjacent end of the steaml pipe as sition of the bellowswithout strain or stress.

. The disks or annuluses are put togetherin this normal position in order that the joint 'may thereby have an increased capacity in use. By this construction it willbe seen that the same expansive or contractile movement may take place on each side vof this intermediate or normal-position, and T take advantage of this fact to double the range of movement of the joint within the' elastic capacity of the metal. Tf, for example, the joint is to be used on steam pipes, it will be seen that by irst contracting the bellows to its extremev nested position and x then mounting it inthe steam piping system in this contracted condition, the initial expansion of the steam piping will irst be taken up bythe expansion oit' the joint from said nested position back tov its intermediate or normal semi-expanded'position and then the further expansion of the. steam piping is taken up by the `expansion of the joint from thisnormal or intermediate position to its 'ull extended. position.l Or iin other f.words, the lirst half of the expansion of the 4o jointslmply restores the bellows to its normal position of no stress or strain and then the joint may continue to expand .or extend forthe same additional distance beyond the intermediate Ornor-strain position and yet the bellows maybe put under only the same elastic strain or stress as at thestart, excepting that it willnbe a tensile straninstead of a compressing strain. Tf, on the other hand, the joint 1s to be used in connection 5o with a system of 'cooling.pipes, refrigerati ing pipes'for instance, the procedure is sim-' ply reversed, The bellows is stretched from its intermediate normal position to its extreme length before being coupled into the system. It is then, while in this stretched l lor extended position, mounted properly in the system of piping. Then upon the first contracting movement of the pipingit will be evident that uthe bellows moves first back Vto to itsintermediate position of no strain and ,the further'contracting of the piping systeml vsimply moves it from this intermediate no-` strain position to its completely contracted for Anested position, and the bellows in this tt latter position is under no more stra-in than eing extended by an expansive at the start. lln other words, this feature i' of my invention provides twice the expansive or contractile movement for va given elasticity of the metal that would be secured if the normal position of no strain were either the fully contracted or the` fully expanded position of the bellows.

As a convenient means of causing the initial contraction of the joint when it is desired to mount. it in `a heat conveying system on the one hand, or of causing the initial expansion of the joint when it is desired to mount it in a cold conveying system on the other hand, ll have shown in Figs. l and 2 means respectively for pushing the flange 23 away from the head 9 and pulling said flange toward said head.

TnFig. l threaded bolts 28 f are tted loosely through the bores 24: in the flange 23 at one end, and seated in the recesses 14C at the other end, nuts 29 being mounted on said bolts to engage against the adjacentA face of the flange 23. Rotation of the bolts therefore turns the bolts with relation to the nuts suiiiciently to move the ange 23 away from lthe head 9 and thereby slide the tube 15 in the -collar 16 and contract the bellows. This operation is performed while the entire joint is cold, thereby compressing the bellows from its intermediateor normal position to its `fullyl compressed or nested position. vThe joint is then coupled into the steam pipe system as shown in Fig. 2 when the pipes are cold, andthe bolts 28 and nuts 29 are removed, leaving the joint in position to respond to an extreme rise injtemperature l in the steam pipes.

Tn Fig.' t I have shown the boss as l threaded at 26 and have mounted a threaded socket 27 in the opposite Iaperture 24 and have 'provided a bolt 28 with threaded engagement at 29 with. the threads 26 and hav- ,Y

ingthe head 30 at its opposite end to engage an internal shoulder 31 in the boss 27 so that when the boltv28 is screwed into the socket 13 it will pull the flange 23 toward the head 9 and thereby expandv the bellows'. This puts the joint in the proper expanded or extendedA position to vbe coupled into pi es which are apt to contract inuse. The ea- .ture of my invention last? explained is of 'particular 1mportance, as 1t m1n1m1zes the strain Aon the metaldlsks or annuluses of the bellows, while permitting a wider range of movement.l As the movement starts from a position of maximum strain in the first Y fhalf of the movement thebellows simply moves from this position of maximum strain to a positioncbof no strain, and then at the second half ofthe movement it moves from ,this intermediate position of opposite position of maximum strain.

From 'the' foregoingv explanation the opno strain to an erationof the expansion .joint will be readily i y understood and it will be see'nthat, in addition to the main vfunctions and advantages already explained,lthat the steam tight por- 'tion is at ixed bearing places, i. e. between` 'the bearings of the flanges 17 and 27 where a gasket 26 may be fitted conveniently. The sliding fit of the tube in its collar 16 need not be steaml tight, but a sliding t merely.

In the preferred embodiment of .the invention in .which the bellows is permanently 'lo inclosed bythe casing or housing l, all possible danger from thebreaking of the expansion portion of the joint is eliminated because the expansion portion is entirely 'protected or covered within the housing.

15 I- prefer so uto-constr-uct the parts that the housing will serve as a stop to limit an ex-' ,ansive' and contractile movement .of the ellows beyond proper limits, -as for 'in.

- "stance, the liange 23l may strike against the nut 19 as a stop in one direction and the lnesting of the sheet annuluses or disks againstfeach other will act as a stop in the opposite direction, and thus the mechanism provides positive stops as a further protec- 25l tion to the metallic lbellows to prevent un# due Vstrain in either direction. I prefer .to lmake these disks vof chrome, vanadium steel, oil tempered, which has an elastic limit of approximately 150,000 pounds per squareinch, and this will withstand.prac

tically numberless lineal movements without damage, thus rendering 4the-expansion ele-v ment of the joint practically indestructible, particularly when covered'and protected'as above explained. :As the bellows are en-A portion and combination of parts withoutdeparting-from the spirit and scope of my l, invention asdeiinedin the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I lclaim' as new and' ,desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s:

, v 1. An expansion joint, compensating for lengthwise expansionl of pipe lines comprising an expansionmember consisting oflannuluses ofelastic metal alternately, integrally and homogeneously yjoined together to y 'form a continuous joint, the' construction being suchthat the v,maximum movement of the' j expansion member shall' not exceed the elasltic movementcof-its parts'. A

A '2. expansion joint compensating forY 'lengthwiseexpanslon of pipe lines com rlsf ing an expansion member consisting o annulusesfo elastic meta/1 alternately, integrliy and .homogeneously joined at their 1.- inner an d ou t`er. peripheries tok form a 'contmuous jo1vnt,-p1pe connect1ons at each end,

and stops to prevent the expansion othe expansion member beyond the limit of the elastic metal. I

3. An expansion joint comprising an expansion member consisting of annuluses of elastic metal, integral joints connecting the annuluses at their inner and outer peripheries, said joints aving the same .elastic character as the annuluses, and pipe connections at each end, the construction being such ythat maximum movement bf the expansion member does not exceed the elastic movement of its parts.

4. An expansion joint comprising an expansion member consisting of a plurality of nested corrugated disks, said disks being alternately welded together at their inner and outer peripheries, so as to form junc tions homogeneous with respect to the physical properties of the adjacent metal, a casing inclosing said expansion member, and a pipe connection to said expansion member extending loutside of said casing.

5. An expansion joint comprising a metallic expansion member consisting of a plu- `rality of corrugated disks, said disks being alternately weldedtogether at their inner and outer peripheries so as to form junctions homogeneous with respect to the physical properties of the adjacent metal, a casing inclosing said member, connecting means united' to said expansion member extending outside of said Casin and a non-steamtight joint between sai ycasing and connecting means.

6."An expansion joint, comprising a metallic expansionmember, consisting of a plurality of sheet annuluses, corrugated and nesting together, said annuluses being alternately joined together at -their inner and outer peripheries'so as to form homogeneous junctions `with respect to the adjacent metal, a sliding tube rigidly secured to one end of said member and the other end of said memberv being yloosely secured to said tube to permit a relative sliding movement, and a casing inclosing the said tube and expansion member.

An yexpansion joint, comprising a steamtight casing, a tubular member adapt- 1 1 5 ed to slide into said casing through a nonsteam-tight joint, and an expansion member, comprising a plurality of corrugated disks, said disks being alternately joined together 'at their inner and outer peripheries -12o in such manner as to make said expansion member elastically homogeneous, thereby uniting the inner end of said tube with the walls of said casing in a steam tight fitting.

Anexpansion joint, comprising a steam 125 tight casing having an open aperturetherein, a tube adapted to slide through said aperture, an expansion member elastically homogeneous, united at one end to said f aperture adjacent thev opening and a tubunaiepoc lar member fitting within said opening, and having its inner end united to the other end of said member, said member comprising a plurality of metallic, corrugated disks encircling said tube and unitedl alternately at their outer and inner peripheries to constitute a yielding metallic expansion member.

9. In an expansion joint, an expansion member conslstlng of elastic metallic antube connected to one end of said member' and passing lengthwise through said member and provided at its free end with means for securing it to a pipe, and means connected to the opposite end of said expansion member for securing said opposite `end to a ripe,

11. lln an expansion joint, the combination of anexpansion member comprising a plurality of corrugated disks 'of elastic metal, pipe connections securedA to opposite ends of said disks, means for guiding said pipe connections axially so as to prevent bending of said joint, and means to prevent the movement of said pipe connections beyond the limit of elasticity of said expansion member.

12.v ln an expansion joint, the comblnation of a casing, an expansion member,'com prising a plurality of corrugated disks of elastic metal located within said casing one end of said disks being connected to one part of said casing, -a pipe connected to the other end of said disks and means for guiding said pipe connection axially with respect to said casing so as to prevent bending. ot said joint and stops to prevent the movement of said pipe connection beyond the limit of elasticity of said expansion member.

13. ln an expansion joint, an expansion member comprisingy a plurality of corro-- gated disks having inner and outer periph- `cries welded to form continuous'curves and connections 'from the opposite ends thereof for coupling said joint into-a piping system, said connections being constructed and arranged to extend the expansion memberupon an expansion movement oit the adjacent pipes of the piping system and to con-l tract the said member upon a contractile Witnesses;

movement of the adjacent pipes of the piping system.

14: In an expansion joint, a metallic expansion member comprising a plurality of corrugated disks having an intermediate position of no stress and an elastic movement within the elastic limit of the metal to extreme positions in opposite directions from said intermediate position, in combi. nation with means for adjusting said expansion member toward one of its extreme positions preliminary to mounting the same in operative position in a pipe line.

15. lin an expansion joint, an elastic metal expansion-member having an intermediate position of no-stress and an elastic movement to an extreme position in opposite directions from said intermediate position, and means .for adjusting said expansion member to one of its extreme positions preliminary to mounting the same in operative position in a system.

16. The combination with the adjacent ends of two pipes of a piping system, of an expansion joint provided with an elastic member having an intermediate position of no-stress and elastic movement in opposite directions therefrom, .said expansion/ joint being secured at its opposite n)ends to said respective pipes, so as to' be. under elastic stress when said systemis not working and the pipes have approximately the surrounding temperature.

17. The herein described process, consisting of connecting an expansion joint to the adjacent ends of two pipes `whose lineal variations under dierences in temperuature 100 said `expansion joint is insa condition of elastic tension, whereby said expansion member will have to pass from said position of strain through an intermediate position of. no strain to an opposite posltlon of strain in responding to the lineal varlations of said o.members under changes in temperature.

ln testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in they presence off two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERCK RAY.

JAMES R. .-HODDER, R. d'. Huisnr. 

